Charles Barkley: Fans shouldn’t be allowed to vote for All-Star game

Fan voting for the 2013 NBA All-Star Game is underway, and Charles Barkley is disgusted with some of the results thus far. Because of the way things are going, Barkley believes the fans should no longer decide who the starters for the All-Star game will be in the future. In particular, he’s baffled that Dwight Howard and Kevin Garnett are receiving so many votes.

“I don’t think the fans should ever vote because they just vote for their favorite players,” Barkley told WMSF-FM in South Florida earlier this week, via FOX Sports’ Chris Tomasson. “I’m a big Kevin Garnett fan. But there’s no way in the world he should be starting the All-Star game right now. And the same way with Dwight Howard. Those fans who have penciled those two guys in (to) start… that’s a travesty to be honest. I like Dwight Howard but he ain’t played like no All-Star this year and Kevin Garnett (the same).”

K.G. and Dwight are having rough seasons. Garnett, who is 36 years old and at the tail end of his career, is showing his age. He is averaging 14.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, which certainly aren’t All-Star numbers. Howard has yet to find his groove with the Lakers, as he’s averaging 17.3 points and 11.9 rebounds — his lowest totals in seven years.

While you could still argue that Howard is one of the best centers in the league and doesn’t have much competition (an argument Shaq lives off of), the All-Star format has changed this season. Fans can now vote for three forwards and two guards and omit a center if they so choose, meaning they don’t have to vote for Howard at all.

At the end of the day, the outcome of the All-Star Game is meaningless. Like the MLB, the NBA cares more about keeping fans involved and making them a part of the process than it does about whether or not the best players are chosen. That’s part of the business end of professional sports.